US Plans More South China Sea Patrols to ‘Challenge China’

In the past couple of years, the US has made a point of sending warships off the coast of Chinese-claimed islands in the South China Sea every couple of months, as a way to “challenge” Chinese ownership. The rate at which such “patrols” take place is soon to increase.

US officials say that they are planning to conduct a lot more such patrols, and at regular intervals, a move which officials concede will likely fuel yet more tensions between the US and China over the South China Sea’s status.

China claims most of the South China Sea, but some of its claims overlap with other nations in the area. While most of these are being negotiated diplomatically, the US has backed every claim that conflicts with China’s, and has been sending warships through the area to prove that they have the freedom to do so.

As a practical matter, sailing near such islands isn’t a big deal, and China generally ignored the practice until the US started publicizing the fact that they were doing it specifically to spite Chinese claims in the region. Chinese officials have warned they won’t tolerate overt threats to their islands, but so far that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

Pacific Commander Admiral Harris has been advocating more patrols on the grounds that “more is better,” though it’s not clear how many more ships are going to have to be committed to the region to keep making such trips. The USS John S. McCain was the last warship to make such an attempt, though having smashed into a tanker just days later, ti’s likely to need considerable repairs before it’s up for another patrol.

14 thoughts on “US Plans More South China Sea Patrols to ‘Challenge China’”

It’s not a ‘challenge’- it’s a ‘provocation’. The Chinese are acting with remarkable restraint in all of this. One wonders how many heads in Washington would explode if China sent a credible fleet to ‘challenge’ us in our waters?

Turning far-flung islands with important ecosystems in international waters into military bases by constructing landfills is showing restraint? That’s illegal, and China is acting illegally.
China is also building bases in Antarctica which infringe on Australian claims, and the Antarctic Treaty itself. China moves aggressively in Africa and Central America. Oh no, you shouldn’t be so comfortable to allow China to turn SE Asian reefs into naval bases. The U.S. won’t allow it – not while it still has the ability to stop such crimes.

How can ine explain such quantity of wilfull ignorance? There are several possible explanations. You may be one of the democratic base loyalists with a misplaced sense of patriotsm, even when it means wilfull self deception. Or an old school republican McCain provinence, with the same delusion of exceptionalism.

But you would have been more true to youself if you provided real reason for your feelings — the one Hillary described in her campaign of us being “good”, and by extentiom, the “others” are evil. We are exceptional and irreplaceable making those “others” inferior and — disposable. I almost miss those honest racists, who out of ignorance and lack of exposure to world see those “different” races and cultures as threatening. They are more understandable then the globalists of your provenance that suffer from supremacism. Regardless of race and color, sex or age, culture or ethnicity — supremacists serve the ideology of its globalist imaginary rights and imaginary goodness. Evil they perpetrate they even do not see as evil — as psychopatic ideologies as a rule never do.

Let us start with your reasoning for the globalist mission to civilise world. In South China Sea China is acting legally on the basis of historic claims on island chains — in fact, much more older claims then the European “discoveries” of Pacific islands and cultures that could not defend themselves. The UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS), has been ratified by qualifying majority of member countries, and became international law. It allocates to each country with territorial waters additional 200 miles of economic rights. These areas are free to commercial maritime travel, but require permission for fishing or other commerciall exploitation. It also requires permission for any military access. The convention was meant to help smaller countries retain some of their assets. UNCLOS provides arbitration bodies for helping delineate new boundaries, and prescribes steps for bilateral resolutions. US decided not to be a signatory, but by doing so — it has NO STANDING IN DISPUTES. US, being accustomed to bully other countries into doing its bidding — did everything to organize regional pushback to China claims under UNCLOS. This is illegal, and bullying did not work. For one, Phillipines in whose name US procured an oppinion by Hague bases court of appeals, is no longer interested to be used by US as a battering ram against China, and shortly later — regional group, ASEAN, refused to condemn China for its territorial claims in South China Sea. They AGREE with China to take matters up within UNCLOS process, starting with bilateral negotiations. Then EU attempted to stick its collonial oar into the South China Sea — and condemn China, but the resolution was blocked twice, by Greece and Hungary. And please harbor no illusions about the friendly Vietnam. Their interests are purely mercenary, as the crippled people and infrastrucure are still there to remind them exactly what they are doing.
We have no standing in the resolution of disputes stemming from UNCLOS, and blightely pretend we do not know. The transparent desire on our part is to control Malaaca Straights and other points of navigation — is to have a control of 90%of Chinese commercial navigation including energy from the Middle East travels. But for decades now China has developed new transit across Eurasia, tapping into Russia led EEU, that standardized tariffs and product standards based on WTO and GATT. Why did Vietnam join EEU? To be able to utilize Chinese coastal travel not controlled by US go reach Russian ports and transit via mainland. On the surface, all if them are securing alternate routes to Europe — but in reality, they are planting the foothold into vast Asian hearthland stretching from European Balkans to Pacific. The devrlopment is of interest to Japan and South Korea, as their economies are increasingly linked to China. Thus, US efforts of controling Southeast Asea are failing (unless you think that India is out ally). So much blood has been shed to control Somalia and Yemen, in a megalomanic effort to control Bab al Mandeb, the entry into Red Sea.
None of this is worth it — as US would have been better of to provide its good offices to other countries, provide leadership in strenghtening international law, and cruically, advance global security – instead of relying on its European brethern to civilise the “disposable” nations.

Your comments on Africa or Central America are really not worth anslysing.
A real sin is committed by China by starting a new canal project in Nicsragua.
Today Panama canal us not capable to handle largest ships, any daily damage is done to many ships due to the difficult passage. So instead of rejoicing that China would invest money earned from us into vital infrastructure -/ we are mad as it eliminates the power we have over Panama canal. And what about Africa?
Numerous ports, roads, railroads and bridges testify to China paying for its access to Africa’s wealth. What do we do today in Africa? Enslaved them by IMF loans, that killed their economies and institutionalized corruption.
Remember, mine from losns goes to our favorites in African countries. But no African politician can take a bridge or a port inyo his Seiss bank account. By being arrogant power, relying on our European allies, we have squandered the golden historic opportunity to advance global security, trade and international law. We have trashed the international order, instead of building upon it. But it was our musfortune that just at the moment if our greatest opportunity we became obsessed with Israel, its expansionist ambitions, and its paranoid view of the world — the world of enemies determined to stop them. Russians, Iranians, Chinese.. name them. So, we are caught in a cycle of fighting enemies — nine of which wish us any harm. But will defend themselves intelligently and patiently. Making us look stupid, as demonstrated vividly by the case of South China Sea.

Chinese business has been moving aggressively in Africa and elsewhere and that is perfectly fine and legitimate unlike the warmongers in DC who do the opposite like setting up nothing but military command centers in these regions.

What’s illegal . The United States has broken almost all the agreed upon laws we spent years getting every body to agree to when we bombed and dismembered Yugoslavia 20 years ago . Almost every move we made to destroy Yugoslavia was illegal and against international law .Especially firing a missile into the Chinese Embassy accidently on purpose . China has not forgotten or forgiven these illegal acts . It is now utmost stupidity to talk to either China or Russia about legality and international law . when we all know damn well there is no longer any agreed upon international law .

These provocations by US warships in the South China Sea give China a perfect excuse to militarize its islands, similar to what is happening in Korea (also involving China). Both PRC and DPRK are acting perfectly legally in these matters, while the US is left with deciding upon peace or war, a war the US can’t win. Meanwhile the US is made to look silly and powerless as its ships keep bumping into tankers. Freedom of bad navigation, who needs it.

To the United States testing missiles over the ocean is called a threat and should be dealt with because we feel threatened . But United States sends money and weapons to overthrow foreign governments and that is supposed to be foreign aid .